A Shadow's Tale (20 page)

The feeling of vindication and fulfilment had gone by the time the sedative had started to wear off. Instead, it was replaced by the feeling that I was in for it now. I sighed heavily, rolling over, the clinking of the chain tying me to the wall the only sound to echo in the tiny cell. I glared at the wall, cursing myself for
getting into this mess in the first place. It wasn't like Amarath was going to come dashing to the rescue this time. Not while she thought her sister was now lying six feet under in a clearing next to the house. I sighed again, scratching at the silver bands. Blood started to clot under my claws as I did, but I wasn't paying attention. Somewhere on the floor, a piece of paper fluttered. I frowned. That wasn't normal. I wasn't allowed anything in the cell. The scientists were too scared that I'd find out a way to escape. I glanced at the floor. Sure enough, there was a piece of paper there. I reached down to pick it up, straining slightly against the chain in order to reach it. Two words had been scribbled on the scrap.

I glanced at outside the cell, at the two guards who stood in front as an extra precaution. One of them turned his head slightly. Hope flared up in my heart. Bart! He smiled a little, turning around and reaching for the keys on the belt of the uniform I guessed he'd nicked. The other guard turned as well, showing Dominique's serious, I'm-trying-not-to-smile face. I had never been so glad to see the pair of them. The door swung open. Dominique pulled a pair of handcuffs from her belt, clamping them over my wrists as Bart unlocked the chain. Neither of them spoke, but I knew that they were trying to simulate what the real guards would have done.

Bart teleported us away as soon as we had lost sight of the Milita's headquarters, landing back in the cave. Well, I say he teleported us. If he hadn't had help, we would have ended up in the North Pole. Tiredly, I made a mental note to teach him how to teleport properly without Dominique having to navigate for him. I leant against the wall, trying not to throw up. Bart really hadn't got the hang of teleporting. Waiting until the wave of nausea passed, I closed my eyes. Every single part of my body
ached from the forced morph. Dominique stepped up to my side silently, putting her hands over each of the silver bands in turn. With a murmured word, they cracked and dropped from my limbs. I nearly cried in relief. The skin where the metal had touched had been burnt black, angry red sores weeping clear fluid breaking the dark colour. Wraith crept out from her hiding place, nosing my hands in gentle concern. I laid my hand on her head, taking comfort in the feel of her soft fur.

‘Bart, can you heal those?' Dominique asked quietly as I sank to the ground. My skin crawled and itched as he touched the wounds, concentrating on healing them. When only faint scars remained, he sat back, sweat beading his brow.

‘Thank you,' I said to the pair of them, knowing that the simple words didn't express the extent of my gratitude towards them. Bart smiled weakly, getting to his feet to go and curl up at the back of a cave. His light snoring soon began to echo off the walls. I sympathised with him. Healing took a lot of energy. Dominique sat and watched him quietly. I closed my eyes, hoping to get some sleep myself. It would seem that fate was not on my side.

It didn't take long for us to realise something was wrong with Bart. His breathing became hoarse. He twitched as if he was fighting someone in his dreams. In the gloomy light, I spied the bony spines of his part demon form protruding from his back. Shit. The static feel of magic filled the air as he began to lose control. Pulling Dominique back, I tried to think of something, anything I could do. Only one thing came to mind. I had to fight him, try to bring him back that way. I summoned my magic, issuing a challenge. Four red eyes illuminated the darkness near Bart's head.

‘Dominique, you've got to try and stay out of this fight,' I warned the Kraferrin. I didn't want her getting hurt. This was going to be an intense enough fight without me worrying about trying to pull my shots in case they hit her.

‘Shadow, you know that Bart's a Kraferr. I know more things about Kraferrs than you do, like their weak points and reflexes. You need my help!' Bart leapt forwards, trying to land a punch. I bared my teeth at him as I jumped away, throwing up my mental defences. The battle had begun.

‘He's also a demon! You have no idea how much that changes things!' Bart tried to attack again, magic strengthening the blow. I closed my eyes, letting my own demon side burst forth. It flooded through my muscles, taking control. My vision turned red. I brought my arms up to cross them in front of my head and chest, strengthening a shield I had created from my magic. Bart crashed into it with astonishing force. Despite the shield, I staggered back. Bart retreated a few paces, planning his next move. I took a deep breath, trying to get my demon side back under control. He drew one hand back. I braced myself. He threw a bolt of magic. It passed through my shields easily, striking my shoulder. Snarling in pain, I started to launch my own magical attacks at him. I managed to get his right knee, weakening him considerably and hampering his movement. I had to try to bring him down. I threw another bolt at his knee, trying to destabilise him enough to make him fall. As soon as he started to wobble, I curved another blast round his back, knocking him onto his stomach. I manipulated a net of magic to pin him down, muttering a string of spells under my breath in an attempt to keep him there. He struggled madly, forcing me to double my efforts to keep him down. Slowly, he started to calm.

‘Bart?' I asked quietly, wondering who was going to answer me. The Kraferr or the demon? The being under the net of magic started to laugh. It wasn't in mirth. It was high and mocking. It chilled my bones to hear it. I wanted to clamp my hands over my ears just to keep it out. ‘Who are you?' I snarled, feeling the deep vibrations in the ground that told me I was using my demon voice. ‘Identify yourself!'

The laugh faded away much to my relief. ‘You've changed a
lot, I see, ever since my death. If I told you the truth of who I really was, you wouldn't believe a word I say.'

I ground my teeth. This was definitely a demon presence. I decided to pull the power card. ‘I am Shadow Roth, heir to Karthragan, Prince of Darkness. I demand to know your identity!'

‘I am what you were in the past. Shadow Roth – before the prophecy. I am what you would call – yourself.'

‘You are not me. I was in control of my other side. It posed no threat!' I snarled, but in the back of my mind, I wished that I could believe my own words. With a near deafening crack, Bart broke free of the net of magic, aiming a kick at my chest. It connected, sending me flying back. Shaking my head to clear the daze, I started to get angry. If this really was the demon side he had inherited through my blood, I should have no qualms about bringing him down as efficiently as possible. Taking three running steps, I executed a manoeuvre Amarath had spent hours upon hours teaching me. Using my magic to help me, I jumped over Bart, turning on myself to land facing his back. As soon as my feet touched the ground I dropped a little to turn a roundhouse kick. Bart ducked to try to avoid the attack. My foot struck his neck with a sickening crack. He lay sprawled on the ground. Seeing him there broke every hold my demon side hand on me. I crouched next to the Kraferr, running a light hand over the damage I had inflicted.

‘What did you do to him?' Dominique screeched, reminding me of her presence.

‘Broke his neck by the looks of it,' I said. I moved his head as gently as possible, realigning the bones the best I could before my magic healed the injury. I sat back, exhausted. I struggled to keep my eyes open. Without the adrenaline rush of the fight, I could barely stay awake. Dominique knelt by Bart's side, stroking his hair. I let my head fall back as I tried to think about the chances of Bart reawakening as the demon. From what I could determine,
they were pretty slim. That was comforting at least.

‘Shadow?' Dominique sounded nervous. I opened one eye I hadn't even realised I had closed.

‘Hmm?'

‘Do you know how to tell if someone's sterile?' I had to think about that one for a few moments, coaxing my tired mind to give me thoughts that were at least vaguely coordinated. It was pretty much like trying to get Amarath to stop sleeping with every single sword she owned. Unlike that venture, I did manage to remember a spell from the book Armen had given me. It wasn't specifically for testing someone's fertility, but it was close enough. I nodded to the Kraferrin.

‘Could…Could you perform it?' She asked. With a heavy sigh, I moved to sit closer to her. Taking her hands, I pressed them together between mine, focusing on the spell I needed. It was pretty long and not one I had ever used before. Had it been anyone else but one of the people who had rescued me from the Milita., I would have said no. But I owed Dominique a favour. I pushed my exhaustion to one side, concentrating hard. I watched our joined hands carefully. Dominique was staring at them with a single-minded determination I hadn't seen since I hid the dictionary from Onyx and she had all but torn the house apart in search of it. My magic started to spark above our joined hands, like tiny droplets of fire. They took the form of a triangle with the single summit facing upwards. Dominique looked at me.

‘Well? What does that mean?' I had to take a moment to try and best phrase the spell's findings.

‘I'm sorry Dominique, it's not possible for you to bear a child.' Not knowing what to do, I got to my feet, moving to the back of the cave where I curled up, closing my eyes.

When I woke, the cave was silent. Bart and Dominique were nowhere to be seen. Bright daylight spilled through the mouth of the cave, lighting up the interior better than a light bulb ever
could. I yawned, stretching before running a hand through my unruly hair. You could say that I was really not a morning person. The only time I had ever vaguely resembled a morning person was the time Archangel had rigged a trick over my bed so that as soon as I got up, I would simultaneously be doused in icy water and hauled upside down by a snare. Let's just say I was awake and ready to do some damage. Or I would have been if I hadn't caught a cold from it. Melancholy flooded my mind as I started to think about the clan. Someone coughed politely from the mouth of the cave, raising me from my thoughts. I leapt to my feet, drawing my dagger. A young woman stood there, no, not a woman, a demoness, about the same height as me. She had small, pointed horns poking out from her bright red hair, her equally red eyes averted. For a moment, I tensed, ready to fight, sizing her up, but she felt and looked nervous as she bowed to me, one hand fisted over her heart.

‘Please excuse me for this intrusion, Princess,' she said, ‘My name is Aleth. The Council of Aspheri wishes to know if you intend to step up to take the throne? If so, I have been instructed to escort you to the dimension and serve as your lady's maid.'

Princess? I had to sit down again. The demoness gasped, rushing to my side, fussing over me. I pushed her away with assurances that I was fine, just a little shocked. She nodded primly, stepping back. I took a deep breath. Of course, the prophecy said that the victor of the fight was to take over rule of the dimension. I had nothing left here. Not now that my clan had rejected me. I looked up at the other demoness. Getting to my feet, I raised my chin, standing tall. It was time to take control of my own life, now that I had one to live. The prophecy was over and I was free to do what I wanted.

‘Yes, I will take over rule of Aspheri in my father's stead.'

The demoness squealed in delight, clapping her hands. I couldn't help but smile. Her joy was infectious. But my smile faded a little as I remembered Bart and everything he had done.
I couldn't leave the dimension without saying goodbye.

The demoness agreed to let me have a little more time to myself, to say goodbye to the Kraferr, while she took Wraith to Aspheri. I tracked Bart's signature, teleporting to a small lake not far away. Well, his final teleportation ended up at the lake, or rather in it. In the last ten minutes, he had made at least five attempts. One of them landed him in Antarctica. I crouched on a boulder on the shore of the water, watching as the Kraferr pulled himself out, soaking wet.

‘Well, I have to say it, apart from Archangel and Onyx's failed attempts at navigation during their teleportation, you have got to be one of the worst cases I've seen.' I tilted my head to one side as I watched him. ‘Most demons actually manage to get within one kilometre of their target on the third attempt. I think you broke the record.'

‘Shadow!' he protested. ‘I'm trying! Not my fault I can't get it right! I'm used to just being a Kraferr. Demons have magic throughout their whole lives. I've only used magic occasionally up to now…And I'm still worried about submitting to my demonic side. If ever that happens again, and you aren't there, you can say bye-bye to most of people on the face of the earth…'

I chewed the inside of my cheek, wondering if I should tell him now that I wasn't going to be around any more. I opted not to. Not yet. ‘Part demons only have their magic from around their third year of life. Other than that, welcome to the life of every part demon that has ever existed. You're lucky. You're not alone.'

‘I'm going to get this teleportation thing sooner or later. Just watch me,' Bart said. There was a hint of boastfulness in his voice. I tried hard not to laugh. ‘I'll get it in no time. I think I got the knack now…'

‘Yeah…we'll see about that…' I walked a little closer to the Kraferr before pushing him back into the lake and teleporting to the other side of the water, yelling out, ‘Tag!'

Bart broke the surface, spluttering in confusion. Seeing the smile creeping over my face, he concentrated hard for a moment, vanishing from the lake, appearing a couple of metres away from me. Trying to hold back my laughter, I teleported away again as he lunged for me. The game turned into a lightening quick battle of wits, trying to outsmart each other. It was a case of trying to get to grip on your new surroundings before the other cottoned on to the fact that you were there. We both ended up in the water more than once when we forgot to be precise in our coordinates. Bart managed to tag me once, but I got him back. Before long, we were breathless from laughing, sitting on the banks of the lake, wringing out hair and fur. I wiped the tears of laughter from my cheeks, turning to look at Bart. Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Oh goddess. I got to my feet, facing Vrael, Shaeman and Amarath. Bart scrambled up to stand next to me.